French
· FrançaisFrance, Belgium, Switzerland, Canada (Quebec) · 300M+ speakers across 4 continents
French buyers reward elegance and punish anglicisms. The French market also enforces the Toubon law – French is mandatory in commercial copy in France.
Code
fr
Region
France, Belgium, Switzerland, Canada (Quebec)
Shopify
Top-3 European market by Shopify GMV
Why translate
- Loi Toubon: commercial copy must be available in French in France
- Quebec adds Bill 96 – stricter still, with fines for English-only product pages
- Conversion uplift in France averages 60–120% when storefront copy is native French, not MT
Pitfalls
Anglicisms
'Le shopping' works in conversation but reads cheap on a premium PDP. Use 'achats' or 'panier'.
Tu vs. vous
Default to 'vous' for retail. Switch to 'tu' only for streetwear / Gen-Z brands and lock it in glossary.
Quebec vs. France
'Courriel' (Quebec) vs 'e-mail' (France). Use hreflang fr-FR / fr-CA and locale-specific glossary.
Glossary seed
| Source (EN) | French | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Cart | Panier | Never 'chariot' outside Quebec. |
| Checkout | Paiement | Shopify default. |
| Free shipping | Livraison offerte | More premium than 'livraison gratuite'. |
| Sign in | Se connecter | Not 'Login'. |
SEO tips
- French SEO loves question-style queries ('comment choisir…') – generate FAQ blocks per PDP
- Accents matter for ranking: 'cafe' and 'café' are different searches
- Use fr-FR and fr-CA hreflang separately – currencies and shipping differ
Next playbook
Spanish